"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and the Order of the Garter

Makes the case that Sir Gawain and the "Green Knight", one of the canonical works of medieval English literature, should be recognized as a response to King Edward III's foundation in 1349 of the chivalric Order of the Garter. This book is of interest to medievalist historians as well as literary scholars.

At the same time that he was trying to conquer France and Scotland and preside over a court vulnerable to scandal, Edward also called on the history (as it was seen) of King Arthur and the Round Table, associating himself with Arthur's imperial and moral authority through the founding of the Order of the Garter. In its portrayal of the Order of the Garter, Ingledew argues, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight sets itself at odds with Edward's central ethical and political projects. A new and persuasive interpretation of a central literary text, this book will be of interest to medievalist historians as well as literary scholars.